Device for intermittently discharging fluid under pressure



Aug. 18, 1953 G MPELTZ AL 2,649,331

DEVICE FOR INTERMITTENTLY DISCHARGING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE Filed Aug. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS ATTORNEY? HEN/FY BOW/V G ORDO/V M. FELTZ mom 9 R s u M Q n MN llll Q Q QN Aug. 18, 1953 e. M. PELTZ ETAL DEVICE FOR INTERMITTENTLY DISCHARGING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE Filed Aug. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1953 G. M- PELTZ ETAL 2,649,331

DEVICE FOR INTERMITTENTLY DISCHARGING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE Filed Aug. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 8.

- 0 mam k HENRV 50 V//\/ ORDQ/V M. PEL TZ ATTO R N EYS A 8 8, 1953 G. M. PELTZ ET'AI: 2,649,331

DEVICE FOR INTERMITTENTLY DISCHARGING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE Filed Aug. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 'I/fi Mull-1711111111111! Patented Aug. 18,1953

DEVICE FOR INTERMITTENTLY DISCHARG- ING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE Gordon M. Peltz, Flushing, and Henry Bovin, New York, N. Y., assignors to Bridgeport Brass Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of 1 Connecticut Application August 9, 1950, Serial No. 178,396

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for intermittently discharging fluid under pressure.

The device is particularly intended for use in conjunction with the aerosol spray packages currently in use. Such a package comprises a container equipped with a nozzle controlled by a valve container enclosing liquefied gas in which an active ingredient is dissolved or mixed. The container maintains adequate pressure on the gas to keep it liquid. When the valve is opened the gas boils and ejects a spray. The active ingredient may be a deodorant, disinfectant, insecticide, etc.

Such a package is small enough to be easily picked up manually by the user, and the valve is ordinarily arranged so that the user must open it by the use of finger pressure whenever a spray is desired. Heretofore there has not been any fully satisfactory way to operate the package automatically so as to continuously maintain a desired concentration of the active ingredient in the surrounding atmosphere.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a device for effecting an intermittent fluid discharge from such a package, or from any supply of fluid under pressure, in an automatic manner eliminating the need for manual operation. Another object is to provide a device of this character which does not require the inh stallation of electric wiring or other special installation costs. Other objects may be inferred from the following.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a first example of a device embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the device looking in the direction indicated by the line 22 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a second example of a device incorporating the present invention. Fig. 4 is an end view of this second example looking in the direction indicated by the line 4-4 in Fig. 3. I

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 55 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an end elevation looking in the direction indicated by the line 66 in Fig. 3, this view eliminating a number of the parts which are adequately shown by Fig. 4 and which might cause confusion in the present instance.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a portion of the device looking in the direction indicated by the line '!1 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is an exploded view of certain elements shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 shows the second example in a housing which also serves to mount one of the described packages.

In the first example, shown by Figures 1 and 2, a horizontally positioned, reciprocativediaphragm i has an enclosure 2 for its bottom side. This enclosure 2 has a fluid inlet duct 3 to which a length of flexible tubing 4 connects. This length of tubing 4 is supplied with the fluid under pressure. For example, the unillustrated end of this tubing 4 may be connected with the nozzle of one of the packages described, with the valve of this package forced to its open position and continuously held, by a lock or the like, against closing.

The enclosure 2 is in the form of a block of material with the inlet 3 formed by a duct through this block. This duct 3 is enlarged at its entrance end, by a counterbore 5, the tubing 4 having an end coupler 5 which is screw threaded into this counterbore. At its inner end this counterbore 5 contains a plug 1 of porous material which functions as a choke for the fiuid flowing through the inlet 3. This plug is permeable by the gas carried through the tubing 4, but it permits this gas to seep through only at a very slow rate. The porous material may be the porous stainless steel material which is currently available commercially. This is believed to be made by sintering powdered stainless steel. The enclosure or block 2 defines a space 8 beneath the diaphragm I. The effect is that of an expansible and contractible fluid chamber, the diaphragm I being able to rise and fall. The diaphragm forms a reciprocative wall for the fluid chamber. A piston and cylinder arrangement might be used, but the diaphragm arrangement shown provides a permanently leakproof arrangement. Preferably the diaphragm l is made of a flexible sheet plastic having a composition that is inert respecting the fluid being handled by the device.

An outlet 9 leads through the block 2 from the space 8 and connects With a length of flexible tubing H3. The connection arrangement is simi-- lar to the one described in connection with the tubing 4. However, no choke or other fiow restrictive means is used in the outlet 9. Therefore, fluid can flow through this outlet 9 freely as compared to the restricted flow possible through the inlet 3. The tubing [0 leads to a valve assembly including a flange. II and a nozzle l2 which also operates to open the valve when this nozzle is tilted. The valve is of the normally-closed type. The interior of this assembly includes a spring which biases the valve to its closed position. The details of this valve are disclosed in connection with the second example. The chamber 2 has an upper section 2a which serves to clamp the periphery of the diaphragm I to the block 2, and which also serves as a mounting for horizontal base plate I3 to which a tubular column [4 is fastened, the flange ll of the described valve assembly being fastened to the top of this tubular quently described in detail with the aid of Fig. 5,.

is disclosed and claimed by an application filed November 10, 1947 by N. .O. Loven;and. J. :T. Efford, this application bearing Serial' No'.-'785 ,l58 now Patent No. 2,582,262 dated January 15,1952. The valve is used as a part 'of' one" of the "described type of packages now commercially. available. In the case of the package, the user operates the valve by manually tilting the nozzle I2, the spray being ejected through theend or this nozzle. Ordinarily the nozzle is covered by-ia shiftable cap which diverts the spray horizontally, the nozzle being tilted to open the valve .by manually shifting the. cap.

A pair of laterally spaced vertical columns I are fastened on top of .the plate I3 so. that they straddle a well I6 formed by interregistered holes through the parts 2a and i3. A bridge. plate I1 is screwed to the tops of these columns I5 in a horizontal position so as to span between them, and this bridge. plate has a vertical hole 18 registering with the top of the diaphragm I. The. diaphragm i is connected with a push rod 19' which extends therefrom up through the hole I8. This rod I9 is screw-threaded for its entire length, and a guide piece 20. is screwed onto its upper end to provide a reciprocative guide working in the hole I8. A clamping nut .2I is screwed onto the lower end of the rod I9 so that its bottom rests on top of the diaphragm I, and a lower clamping nut Zia, shaped to fit the space 8, is screwed onto the bottom of the rod 19 so that'it engages the bottom of the diaphragm and clamps the latter so as to connect it with the rod. The rod I9 reciprocates vertically with vertical reciprocation of the diaphragm I.

A helical coil, compression spring 22 encircles the rod I9 beneath the plate II, the latter having a recess 23 in its bottom face forming'a seat for the upper end of this spring'22. The push' rod I9'has an opposing spring seat 24, for the lower end of the spring 22, screwed to it, the spring 22 being compressed between these two seats. This spring 22 functions to elastically bias the diaphragm i downwardly at all times. This arrangement causes the space 8 and the diaphragm I to define an expansible and collapsible chamber which is continuously biased to contract. The spring 22 provides the biasing force in this instance.

A second helical coil, compression spring 25 encircles the rod l9 below the spring 22, a spring seat 28 being screwed onto the rod [9 so that it engages the bottom end of this spring 25. A second spring seat 21 engages the top end'of the spring 25, this seat 2? being free to reciprocate relative to the shaft I9. A long lever 28- has one end securely fastened to the nozzle I2, and its other end rests on and extends beyond the upper spring seat 27 of the spring 25. The seat 21 functions as a follower for the top of the spring 25. When the spring seat 27 moves upwardly it swings the lever 28 upwardly to tilt the nozzle [2 to the left and thus open the valve. The lower spring. seat 26, of the spring 25, is positioned so that when the diaphragm I and push rod l9 are at their lowermost positions, when the chamber is fully contracted, the spring 25 is unstrained and the upper spring seat 21 holds the lever 28 s; that it does not tilt the valve assemblys nozzle The extending, swinging end of the lev l? 2. 12$

4 a latch piece 29 projecting therefrom. This latch piece is engagdiby thewo'rking end of a latch 33 when the diaphragm I ,"push rod" I3 and lever 28, are at their lowermost positions. The latch 30 is "in the nature of a swinging latch arm which is i biased".tosswing toward the latch piece 29 by a tspringitl. The swinging latch arm 30 is pivoted by..an upstanding bracket arm 38a fastened to itheplate; i3. The described latch is in the nature ..-of.a.bel-l:-crank, one arm of which forms the latch and 3| while theiother arm forms a release finger 32. This release finger 32 extends to a location "'adjacent'thepush'rod I9 beneath the spring seat 26.. .-.-A*release driver 33 is screwed onto the shaft I 9 below the seat 26 and is adjusted so that when the -diaphragm-l and rod. IS. move upwardly a predetermined distance, fixed by the location of thedriver 33-011 the. rod 19,.the-release arm 32 is swungupwardlysothatthe latch arm 32 is swung outwardly with-consequent release of the latch piece 29. The .armf32 functions as a feeler for. operating the latch,--while.the. driver 33 works .asan operator for this feeler.

A dependingcbracket.arnrs .is screw threaded toatransversely extending portion of the bridge plate II. This bracket arm 34. pivotally supports, by itslower-end, a second swinging latch arm 35 which latches with the latch piece 29 when the lever 2'8 is swungto-an .uppermost position, which is predetermined by adiusting the bracket arm 32 up or down. Thislatchiarm 35-also has a release arm--36, and-areleasesarm driver 31 is screwed onto the'rod: llrbeneath the lower spring seat 22 of the-upper spring 22. This latch arm 35 is biasedto latching position by a spring 38 so that it latchesautomatically when the lever 28 swings upwardly. Downwardmotion of the rod I9 and release-driver-3'I operates-the release arm 36 so as to effect unlatching.

=--.Af=ter the latch-arm 30 is unlatched, it is held irranunlatchedposition-against the bias of the spring 3|. This. is done by forming a flat face 38, on the end" of the latch arm 30, so that it faces the end edgeBB-of the latch piece 29. Upon unlatching =of the latch. 30, the latch piece 29 moves :upwardly withthe faces 38'and 39 interengaging so as to hold out the latch arm 36. The straight vertical face 38permits relative movementbetweenthe:latch-piece 29 and the latch arm Sitwhile-such :holding isgoing on.

The operation of this first example, shown by Figures: 1 and 2, isas follows:

Assuming that the tubing 4 is connected to the nozzlezofoneof the packages-and that the valve of. thispa'ckage-is-open, thereis a continuous supplyroffiuidzunderxpressure the tubing 2. This fiuidslowly seeps through the choke l and fills the various spaces to which it then-gains access. Therefore; fiuid' pressure gradually develops in 0 the space 8, this gradually causing the diaphragm to'rlift with consequent 'lif-ting'of the rod I9. Fluidcannot: escape through. the nozzle I 2 during this.:lifting acticn because."the lat'ch' arm 38 is holding-down the :latch piece'2S, thus preventing lifting of theiarm '28.

As'the; lifting. action.- proceeds, more strain is :put into thetspring'i22'and strain is put in the spring 25, as the springs contract-under the force of: the Tfiuid pressure beneath? the diaphragm I Ultimately, the driver 33 engages andpushes up .wardlyi-lthei latchtreieasearm 32'; and this swings the. latch arm:3& outwardly so as to unlatch the latch piece 29, the lever 28 then being-snapped upwardly l-by'the force, fromithe fluid pressure in the space 8 that-has become; stored in the spring 25. Thus the nozzle I2 is suddenly snapped to a tilted position so as to open the valve on to of the valve assembly column I4. The spring is stronger than the spring biasing the nozzle I2 against tilting.

Since the fluid can now escape, the force stored in the spring 22, also received from the pressure in the space 8, drives the diaphragm I down- Wardly so as to discharge the fluid, through the outlet 9, under the pressure available in this spring 22. The discharge occurs through the nozzle I2 through this pressure developed by the force from the spring 22. During the discharge, the surfaces 38 and 39 coact, while the nozzle I2 is held properly tilted by the latch arm which immediately engages the latch piece 29 when the latter is driven to its uppermost position by the snap action of the spring 25. Thus the valve nozzle I2 remains fully tilted during the discharge phase. At the end of this cycle, the driver 31 depresses the latch release arm 36 so as to swing out the latch arm 35 and permit the spring bias, applied by the valve assembly to the tilting nozzle I2, to snap the valve closed. The weight of the lever 28 aids in this effect, the lever snapping downwardly so that it again rests on top of the spring seat 27, the latch arm 35 immediately relatching due to disengagement of the two surfaces 38 and 39. When the push rod I9 descended, the spring seat 21 descended with it while leaving the lever 28 in its upwardly latched position, and when the latch 35 unlatches this spring seat 21 has reached its lowermost position so that the latch 38 may promptly latch with the piece 29.

Fluid continues to seep through the choke I during this discharging action. However, its rate of flow, through the duct 3 is so slow, as compared to the rate the fluid can flow through the passages 9, I8 and I2 that the major amount of the discharging force is applied to the fluid by the spring 22. For example, the choke I may be made of material through which the fluid can flow at a rate so slow that two or more minutes are required to raise the diaphragm I to its uppermost position during the intake cycle, whereas the discharge cycle may require a time period of only about one second.

The second example of the invention, illustrated by Figures 3 through 8, represents an improvement of the first example. The latter is.

pact device adapted to be secured to the wall of a public washroom or the like. Therefore, as shown by Fig. 9, it embodies a supporting ring 48 provided with a bracket member 4| which may be associated with a wall bracket 42 so that the ring 48 is mounted horizontally.

As shown by Fig. 3, this ring 48 internally mounts horizontally a circular plate 43 from which a shank 44 integrally depends. A vertically reciprocative diaphragm 45 is fastened to the top of the plate 43 by a washer 46 which is screwfastened to the top of the plate 43 and which engages the periphery of the diaphragm'45. A recess 47 extends vertically down through the plate 43 and into the shank 44, beneath the reciprocating portion of the diaphragm 45, the mouth of this bore 41 being enlarged by a coun- In this second example, the design is i tersink 48. The recesses 41 and 48 form a chamber beneath the diaphragm so as to provide the contractible and expansible chamber effect.

A horizontal, internally threaded hole 49 is formed through the shank 44 beneath the bottom of the bore 41, and a cartridge has a threaded shank 58, removably screwed into this hole 49, and a flange-like head 5| externally provided with wings 52 so that the carridge may be screwed into and removed from the hole 49, by using the fingers. A duct 53 is formed vertically up through the bottom of the shank 44 so that it intersects the hole 49 beyond the end of the cartridge shank 50, and this cartridge is formed with a passage 54 which extends axially through the shank, radially through the head 5I and then turns inwardly so as to open beneath the inner face of the head 5| This inner face has a circular recess 55 into which the passage 54 opens. The adjacent outside of the block 44 has a corresponding circular recess 56, and agasket 51 is arranged between the interfacing surfaces of the block 44 and thei nside of the head 5|. This gasket 51 has holes formed through it which register with the recesses 55 and 56. The shank 44 has a horizontal duct 58 formed through it above the hole 49 and which leads from the recess 56 to the bottom of the bore hole 41.

A flow choke plug 59 is installed in the passage 54 of the described removable cartridge. By providing a plurality of these cartridges, which duplicate each other excepting that the flow choke plug 59 provides for different flow rates, it is possible for the user to vary the discharge timing in the case of this second example.

As shown by Fig. 3, a vertical plate 60 is mounted on the opposite side of the shank 44. This plate 68 has a hole 6| which registers with the opposite end of the hole 50, in the other end of which the previouly described cartridge is mounted. A housing 62 is fastened to the outside of this plate 6I to form an enclosure for this end of the hole 49 which is not closed by the cartridge. A push rod 63 is recprocatively arranged through the end of this housing 62, and the inside of the end of this housing has a bellows 64 fastened to it in a fluid-tight manner with a closed end working against the inner end of the push rod 63. A spring 65 biases this push rod 63 and the closed end of the bellows 64 inwardly. This arrangement provides for permanent fluid tightness respecting the inner end of the hole 49.

With the above construction, when fluid pressur exists in the hole 58, on the supply side of the choke 59, the push rod 63 is thrust outwardly. and when there is no fluid pressure the push rod 63 is returned inwardly. The duct 53, the passage 54 and the duct 58 provide the inlet for the space beneath the diaphragm 45. As is subsequently explained, the duct 53 connects with one of the described types of packages so as to receive pressure therefrom as long as the package contains fluid under pressure. When the package empties the fluid pressure falls. Consequently, the push rod 63 provides an indication of whether or not th package has become exhausted. The indicating pressure is taken from the side of the choke plug 59 that is toward the supply of fluid under pressure. Thus the indication is obtained regardless of fluctuations in the pressure on the other side of the element 59.

An indicator arrangement is shown in Figures 6 and 7. This comprises a metal flag 66 having a turning shaft 61 pivotally supported on the outside of the housing 62, this shaft having a bent end 98 which is efngaged by the .outer end of the push rod 63. This arrangement is such that the flag goes up and down depending on the pressure in the hole 49.

Laterally spaced, vertical columns t9 are fastened to the top of the plate 13, and a horizontal bridge 10 is fastened to the tops of these columns so as to span between them. This bridge '79 has a hole H in which the upper end of a vertically reciprocating push rod i2 is journaled. The lower end of this push rod 12 is fastened to the diaphragm G5 and-extends through it in a fluid-tight manner so as to provide an end '13 which fits the bore hole 41 and is guided thereby. Thus, in this instance, th push rod 72 is reciprocatively guided at both its'top and bottom ends so that the diaphragm 95 is relieved from all of the guiding stress. The end 79 has a vertical groove M through which the fluid can travel to the space provided by the countersink 68.

This rod '12 contains a longitudinally extending duct '55 which runs from its bottom to its upper end, and its latter end mounts the previously mentioned valve assembly shown'by Fig. 5.

As used by both examples, this valve assembly has a flexible diaphragm l6 and beneath the latter the nozzle has an inverted cup like base ii the inside of which communicates with the inside of the nozzle through various metering and expansion passageways and'cliamb-ers. A larger inverted cuplil is fastened to the bottom of the diaphragm 76 by the flange H, and this cup 79 houses a spiral compression spring ?9 which pushes upwardly on the inverted cup it so as to press the peripheral edge of the latter against the diaphragm '16. When the nozzle 52 is tilted, cup 11 tilts so that its peripheral leaves the bottom of the diaphragm l6 and provides an opening. The valve is of the normally-closed type. The spring l9 spring biases the valve part H to a closed position at all times. The inverted cup 18 connects in a fluid-tight manner to the top of the rod 12, the latter mounting a housing 89 which supports the flange H and contains the depending parts of the valve assembly. Thus, this assembly rises and falls with the rod 2.

A helical coil, compression spring 8! encircles the rod 12 above the diaphragm 45. The spring 8! is much stronger than the valve spring '19. The bottom end of this spring 8! rests on a spring seat 82 fastened to the rod 12. A pin 83 projects horizontally from this seat 82 and rides up and down in a vertical guideway 8 This is to prevent any twisting action by the rod such as might twist the diaphragm' l5. The top end of the spring 8i is engaged by a spring seat 85 which is reciprocative relative to the rod 12 and is pushed upwardly by this spring 8| against a snap ring 8'6 which is snapped into an annular groove formed in the rod l2. This snap ring forms an anchor.

A second helical compression spring 87 encircles the rod 72 above the snap ring 95, the latter upwardly holding a spring seat 98 for the bottom end of this second spring. The top end of this spring 8'! is engaged by a spring seat 89 restrained by the bridge 19 and which, as is illustrated, forms a bushing for the portion of the reciprocating rod 12 which works through the hole 'H in the bridge Hi.

The nozzle I2 of the valve assembly, on top of the rod 12, is rigidly engaged by the upper end of a generally vertical lever 90 which offsets from this nozzle and then depends to a lowermost end which is provided with a vertical slot 9i. This slot 9! rides around a horizontal pin 92 which is carried by the. lower end of'a second lever .93 which slants upwardly to the bridge F9 to which its upper end is connected by a pivot pin 94. This lever 93 is formed to provide a latch 95 which latches against the top of the spring seat 99 to hold the latter from rising with the rod i2 when the fluid pressure builds up and lifts this rod; This latch is released by the lower end of the lever 93 having a cam surface 99 which engaged by the top of the spring seat 83 as the lat-, ter rises, this action swinging out the lever 99 so as to release the latch surface 95 from the top of the spring seat 85. This carnming motion may swing the lever 99 slightly but not enough to tilt the valve nozzle l2 enough to open the valve.

As the rod 12 rises the spring 9! compresses, and, upon releasing the latch 95, the resulting spring force snaps up the spring seat to the snap ring 86 which has risen with the rod 2. The top of the spring-seat 85 has a cam surface 97 which engages the tip of the latch surface 95, when the latter unlatches, and snaps out the lever 93 so as to swing out the lever 99 and tilt the nozzle I2 with a snap action. This lever 99 rises with the rod 12, theslot 9i permitting this vertical motion without affecting the lever 93.

It is to be noted that the cam action on the surface 96 works through a long lever arm length, whereas the cam action on the latch 95 works through a much shorter lever arm length. Therefore, the lever system does not swing much with the first-mentioned cam action, but does swing enough to tilt the valve nozzle l2 adequately, when the second-mentioned cam action occurs.

The spring 81 constantly biases the diaphragm 45 downwardly to contract the space beneath it. Therefore, as secu es the nozzle I2 is tilted to open the discharge valve, the force from this spring 8'! drives outthe fluid beneath the bottom of the diaphragm. The fluid outlet flow, from the chamber, is through the duct 75 and through the valve assembly on top of the rod T2.

In this instance the valve nozzle i2 is kept tilted, to permit a, full discharge cycle, by a generally horizontal latch lever 99 having laterally spaced arms which extend so as to embrace the lever 93 and which are pivoted by the pivot pin 92. This latch arm has a bridge 98a at one end which overlies the part providing the cam surface 96 of the lever 93. A small stud 99 projects upwardly from this bridge 98a, and the lever 99 has an arm portion providing a downwardly pointing stud I00 opposing the stud 99. A helical coil, compression spring i9! is retained between these studs 99 and I00, whereby this spring l9! continuously biases the latch arm 99 downwardly. This latch arm 98 has a front face I92 which engages the side of the spring seat 82 when the lever is swung outwardly and this spring seat 82 is at any raised position from its lowermost position. Therefore, the lever 99 is cocked outwardly and held until the diaphragm 45 is fully contracted by the downward driving action of the spring 81. Once the diaphragm reaches its lowermost position, the side of the spring seat 82 releases the latch arm 99 so that the lever arm .90 is snapped inwardly by the spring bias on the valve nozzle l2 aided by the weight or" the lever arm 90. As the rod l2 descends the cam surface 91 clears the latch surface on the slanting lever 93 so there is nothing to interfere with the lever 90 snapping inwardly upon unlatching action of the latching surface H32 respecting the sideof the spring seat 92.

Referring now to Fig. 9, the inside of the ring 40 serves to mount an upper casing I03 which is shaped to house all of the parts above the plate 43. This casing is of a generally tubular shape with a closed upper end, this end having an opening I04 through which the discharged fluid is ejected vertically.

A tubular casing I05 fits inside the ring 40 beneath the plate 43, this lower casing being positioned by a bayonet joint of which the pins I06 can be seen in Fig. 9. The bottom of this casing contains a coil compression spring I01, and the casing I05 is proportioned so that an aerosol spray package I08, of a commercially available type, fits inside the casing on top of the spring I01 with the latter pushing the package I08 upwardly toward the shank 44 which depends from the plate 43.

The upper end of the illustrated package I08 has a depression I09 surrounding a valve assembly such as is illustrated by Fig. 5. The lower end of the shank 44 is provided with a depending tubular stud H which fits inside this recess I09 so as to positively position the package I08. The spring I01 pushes the package I08 upwardly. The passage 53 which extends downwardly terminates inside this tubular stud H0 and is provided with an elastic nipple I I I which fits tightly around the nozzle I2 of the packages valve. The spring I0! pushes the nozzle I2 against this nipple and causes the inverted cup I! to leave the diaphragm 16 of the valve assembly. In this fashion, the valve of the package I08 is locked open and the passage 53 is continuously applied with fluid under pressure from the package.

The casing I may be provided with an opening through which the indicator flag 66 may be observed. As shown by Fig. 4, the bridge 10 may be provided with brackets II2 for holding a pair of the previously described cartridges. Thus, the casing I05 encloses three of the cartridges including the one in use and, therefore, can provide for three different timings of the intermittent discharge efiected by the device.

The operation of this second example is substantially like the operation of the first example which has already been described. The differences, resulting from the different mode of construction, have already been described in connection with describing the details of this second example. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide a step by step description of the operation of this second example.

In this second example the part 13 is shaped so as to substantially fill the space 48 beneath the diaphragm when the latter is contracted. This is similar to the corresponding arrangement of the first example. In both instances the purpose is to obtain substantially complete expulsion of the fluid when the diaphragm is fully contracted.

We claim:

1. A device for intermittently discharging fluid from a supply of fluid under pressure, said device including, in combination, a fluid chamber having a reciprocative wall, said chamber having a fluid discharge outlet and a fluid inlet for connection with said source and which provides more resistance to fluid fiow than does said outlet, a valve controlling said outlet, a spring applying closing force to said valve, a second spring continuously biasing said wall to contract and receiving and storing the Wall's expansion, a third spring having one portion moving with said wall and a second portion and a third portion therebetween which receives and stores said walls expansion force when this second portion is held against moving with said wall, a latch for holding said second portion against so moving, a release for said latch and which is operated by a predetermined amount of expansion motion of said wall, means transmitting the released force from said third spring to said valve to force it open against the closing force of the first-named spring, said third spring being stronger than said first spring, a second latch for holding said valve open as said second spring contracts said wall, and a release for said second latch and which is operated by a predetermined amount of contracting motion of said wall.

2. A device for intermittently discharging fluid from a supply of fluid under pressure, said device including, in combination, a reciprocative diaphragm, an enclosure for one side of said diaphragm and which has a fluid inlet for connection with said supply and a fluid outlet, a fluid flow choke in said inlet, a rod extending from the outer side of said diaphragm and reciprocating therewith, a coil spring encircling said rod and having one end fastened thereto, means for anchoring the other end of said spring with the latter strained so as to push said rod inwardly towards said diaphragm and bias the latter inwardly respecting said enclosure, a second coil spring encircling said rod and having one end fastened thereto, a follower connecting with the other end of said second spring and which is reciprocative in the direction of said rod, a latch engaging and holding said follower when said rod has pushed said diaphragm to an innermost position and holding said follower as said rod is pushed outward by said diaphragm and thus straining said second spring, a release for said latch and which has an operating feeler adjacent to said rod, a feeler operator connecting with and moving with said rod and positioned to operate said feeler when said rod is pushed outwardly to an outermost position so that said latch then releases said follower, a spring-closed valve controlling said outlet and having a tilting piece which opens said valve when tilted, a lever interconnecting said piece and said follower so that motion of said follower by said second spring when said latch is released swings said lever to tilt said piece and open said valve, a second latch for holding said lever when it is swung to a position tilting said valve piece, and an element con necting with and moving with said rod and which releases said second latch when said rod is pushed by said first spring to said innermost position. GORDON M. PELTZ.

HENRY BOVIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 441,078 Upward Nov. 18, 1890 553,077 Shiels Jan. 14, 1896 1,796,941 Pottinger, Jr. Mar. 17, 1931 2,153,432 Reich Apr. 4, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 923,219 France Feb. 17, 1947 

